567: Newfound Strength

Newfound Strength

It didn't take long for her injuries to heal and after another day or two, Ming Yue was outside with her sword. Standing by the waterfall and the pond, she was still dressed in light robes as her armor was still repairing itself, having a few more burnt patches. 0

Holding her sword, she closed her eyes and began to hone in her senses, spreading her energy as far as she could. 

She breathed in and out a few times before opening her eyes and smiling in satisfaction.

"So this is what the Sky Realm is like", she muttered. 

After a few seconds, there was a strange expression on her face, as if this was something she couldn't believe. 

"The Sky Realm at the age of twenty-two. If I remember correctly, the youngest to reach it before was Sect Leader Qing", she thought. 

Her mind went back to that moment when the Sect Leader of Clear Spring Mountain had reached the Sky Realm as well, how she had been implicated in the tribulation and miraculously survived, albeit not unharmed. 

"I think she was in her early thirties when it happened. And now there's me at twenty-two. Hahaha, I guess that makes me the youngest now. I wonder how everyone would feel if they found out."

The thought of seeing their shocked faces amused her. But then her small smile changed when she thought about what was next. 

"Next is the Heaven Realm..." she thought. 

Ming Yue then looked at her sword before putting it away, 

"That's still a long way off. I just reached the Sky Realm, I should focus on this first."

Sitting down, she crossed her legs and began to think, furrowing her brows.

"If the Earth Realm is about understanding the Worldly Laws, the Sky Realm is about being able to utilize these laws to their fullest. It is much more straightforward but excessively harder. I just have to keep cultivating, but for how long?" 

Indeed it is as she said, to continue to ascend the Sky Realm, she needed to cultivate. 

"It's like the Human Realm all over again, I have to continually grow and refine my energy. And there are five levels to it, the Five Skies, I think they're called."

She sighed when thinking about it.

"So that means five times. Five changes in quality and quantity."

Her eyes narrowed as she quietly remembered what she had read about the Sky Realm. 

"The reason why the Sky Realm is so highly coveted is that was when one's life span would increase. At the First Sky, one would live for two hundred years and at the fifth, that number is a thousand years... And I always thought living up to eighty was miraculous, suddenly I can live to a hundred", she thought. 

There were many changes that Ming Yue had noticed, everything had seemingly reached a new level. All of them boiled down to two things, her pool of energy had grown larger and purer while her body was not only stronger but brimming with life. 

She felt energetic and refreshed, certainly much stronger than before. 

"I'm at least three times as strong as I was before, definitely have to rethink my techniques now. Maybe not Phantasmal Wind or Reaping Blade but definitely the Zephyr Claws, the Boltwind Nails, and the needles. Most of all, I need to change Pale Moon as well."

Ming Yue quietly muttered to herself. 

With such a difference in strength, it was natural for her to refine her techniques and improve them to match her power. The way they were now, she would not be using most of her strength. She could practically create Storm Lances and Blasting Gales on a whim. If she wanted to, even making a full-on storm was a simple matter to her. 

"I need something stronger."

Deep in thought, she sat by the pond, contemplating her choices and ways she could improve how she fought. Meanwhile, several figures approached her very quietly, trying not to alert her. Their steps were silent and their presence was almost undetectable. 

"What are you three doing?"

Ming Yue asked out loud without even turning, knowing who these figures were. 

"Xiao Yin, Hei Yue, and Liang Wei, what were the three of you planning to do?"

Realizing that she had long noticed them, the trio of beasts moved without much are, making quite a bit of noise as they went up to her. Nudging and nuzzling up next to her, they purred and chirped, calling for her attention. 

Ming Yue wrapped her arms around them, running her fingers through their fur and feathers. Scratching their heads and chins. she stood up and turned towards the house. 

"Right, lunchtime, is it?" she said. 

They all answered with happy sounds, walking back to the house together, where Hongyu was busy grinding up dried herbs. 

After that incident, the young girl seemed somewhat reserved, choosing not to explore the cave anymore. At the same time, her diligence seemed to grow that much more, taking on a routine that was just as rigorous as Ming Yue's. 

Training with her wooden sword in the morning, making medicine at noon, then tending to the garden, and doing other chores. 

Ming Yue hadn't seen her have any sort of fun since she had awakened. Of course, Hongyu had to take care of things while she was unconscious but this wasn't something the young woman had wanted.

Hongyu was still a child aver all. 

Walking up to her, she put a hand on the girl's shoulder, breaking her concentration. Stopping what she was doing, Hongyu looked up at the young woman. 

"Stop, look at how much you've done. I don't think you have to make any more medicine for the next month. Come on, let's go have lunch together", she said to the little girl. 

Hongyu put her tools down and stood up, following Ming Yue out. 

It was a rather bright day today, the sun was out and there weren't too many clouds in the sky. There was warmth coming through the sun's rays as everyone gathered for lunch. The meal wasn't incredible, it was just the meat of some bird beast along with sweet potatoes roasting in an open fire. Simple and easy but quite fulfilling to have. 

As Ming Yue looked at the others, watching them eat, she noticed something strange in the surroundings. 

"It's quiet, very quiet. There aren't that many beasts around us but I don't think it's ever been this quiet. I wonder what's happening."

Little did she know, the cause of it was none other than her. Not only was it the destruction of the underground roots but the lightning that came down. It was more than enough to scare any beast off and the Heaven's Bolt had caused the Devouring Goose to go as well. 

But she didn't learn about this yet. As of now, she needed to get used to her current strength and then focus on furthering her cultivation. Although each level required a massive amount of energy to gather, this was the Beast Continent and it was brimming with the World's Energy. 

There were no cultivators here after all and there were still ruins to be explored, treasures to be found. 

Ming Yue then stood up, grabbing the remains of her meal off of the stone slab. 

"Even if it doesn't help with the teleportation formation, it does make a pretty decent table to eat one."

Amused by this thought, she walked off and tossed what was left of her lunch into the flames. After that, she sat in front of the house and crossed her legs, starting back on her cultivation. In the meantime, Hongyu watched her before sitting right by Ming Yue and copying. 

Together, the pair sat there and cultivated. 

As for the trio of beasts, they had a disappointed look on their faces, seeing as neither was in the mood to play. In the end, they went hunting outside. 

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